Some may remember a post I made a while back about having unintentionally bought a duplicate cowboy action revolver and upon discovering my mistake, was amused and red-faced. It was one of those moments where my gun avarice is undeniable.

Skip ahead to around Nov 2020. Some friends and I went shooting in the desert. One of my friends brought his daughter who had no experience shooting but was interested in learning. The others were busy so I spent my time walking her through the basics and the rules of safety. I see it as evangelism. If we can convert the younger generations to the world of shooting, those who seek to destroy the culture will be frustrated.

When it was time to fire one of those I brought, I was surprised to hear her choose one of my duplicate 7.5" cowboy action revolvers. It's a big gun for a first timer and 45lc is fairly stout. So I escorted her to the line and stood behind her with a warning to hold tightly. She touched one off and then another. Another and another until the cylinder was expended. I did note that when the seventh trigger pull happened, the barrel did not move.....at all. That means she was not flinching. IME that is unusual for a beginner with fairly stout recoil. She looked over her shoulder and the grin told me all I needed to know. She was hooked. She fired that gun exclusively the rest of her time there.

Some time later I was looking for something in my safe and saw those two revolvers together. Duplicates. Most likely one of them would sit in my safe unused forever. It occurred to me That my new young shooting friend would put it to good use. So after some consideration, I determined to give it to her.

She came home from college last week and asked if we could go shooting and offered to pay for ammo. Of course we would make a day of it. The day before heading out I gave ger the gun she liked so much.



The next morning we all went out to the desert.



It didn't take her long to get comfortable safely manipulating, loading and ejecting casings from her new gun.





We made a deal. If she keeps her brass and gives it to me, I'll reload it for her. Ammo is hard to come by so I don't mind helping her out.

I think about how her enthusiasm and quick learning will benefit her experience with firearms for her lifetime and possibly that of her kids when that time comes. That is gratifying.

Outstanding in every respect. Your tutoring, generosity, and her unflinching execution. Well done (Bravo Zulu!) to you both!

Great all the way around.

I love the 45LC cartridge. I sold my Marlin octagon barrel 45LC lever action. The one gun I wished I had back.
It just is a great cartridge. Stout but smooth and easy to shoot.

Fantastic, I did the same with my nephew.

I imagine she'll have a different, and better, perspective on Westerns because of her newfound knowledge and experience with that revolver.

What a great experience to share!

quote:

Originally posted by marksman41:
I imagine she'll have a different, and better, perspective on Westerns because of her newfound knowledge and experience with that revolver.

What a great experience to share!

She got a step by step explanation how Alec Baldwin's story is impossible. She knows now there's only one way that hammer falls and that a woman is dead because Baldwin broke three rules. I used his example to illustrate the value of knowing your weapon, the rules of safety and the responsibility that tempers the freedom.

Outstanding! What a great experience for both of you. She got two gifts from you, the gift of the gun and the gift of the experience of shooting.

Hopefully she'll stick with it and progress into long guns over time.

I see two big smiles in that first photo.

Well done!

quote:

Originally posted by darthfuster:
She got a step by step explanation how Alec Baldwin's story is impossible. She knows now there's only one way that hammer falls and that a woman is dead because Baldwin broke three rules. I used his example to illustrate the value of knowing your weapon, the rules of safety and the responsibility that tempers the freedom.

I'll correct myself and say she got a third gift in the form of a knowledgeable teacher who was able to use a tragic event as a teachable moment to enforce her understanding of the fundamentals of Safety.

That was an awesome thing of you to do, sir, and not just the gift of the gun but the time and the wisdom. That young lady has gained some really useful knowledge and experience that she might never have otherwise acquired, and she has you to thank. I've been blessed to have several excellent shooting mentors in my life, and will be forever grateful for what they've passed on to me. I'm glad you took the opportunity to do that for her. Well done, sir!

quote:

Originally posted by old rugged cross:
Great all the way around.

I love the 45LC cartridge. I sold my Marlin octagon barrel 45LC lever action. The one gun I wished I had back.
It just is a great cartridge. Stout but smooth and easy to shoot.

Couldnt agree more! I love the .45 Colt, especially out of a single-action. What an awesome "first gun" story she's gonna have!

.45LC SAAs are the MOST fun I ever had. I absolutely love light cowboy loads. I'm glad she has an "in" for free reloads. Yikes!

Nice going!

What a great story. Hopefully you have created a new "cowboy shooter"...good job.!

That big smile tells it all.

Great story, Kevin! Very encouraging to hear; put a big smile on my face and a little lump in my throat.

Great Job!

I agree we should always be finding ways to safely introduce new responsible shooters to our sport

ever mindful of the healthy future of the 2A !


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Well done! Glad to see another join our fold!

Excelsior!

Love it! What a badass.

What a great story!! So interesting that she likes the single action pistol.

quote:

Originally posted by 6guns:
Great story, Kevin! Very encouraging to hear; put a big smile on my face and a little lump in my throat.

Right? She’s such a humble and sweet young lady but not shy or timid. On Saturday she tried my 80’s era P226. She says when she’s ready for the responsibility of concealed carry that she’ll buy one of the SIG line. Sharp girl. Lol

Awesome story. Thank you for sharing in such detail.

Good on you sir.

Thank you for sharing a good story!